The archive consists of minutes, correspondence, working papers, membership papers, press cuttings, photographs and publications.
The majority of the material in the collection dates from c. 1985-c. 1990. Some earlier material, collected separately by TWL and the National Federation of Women's Institutes is located in Series I.
See the corporate history for The 300 Group; 1980-c.2002
The 300 Group (1980-c.2002) was established in 1980 by parliamentary researcher Lesley Abdela as an national, apolitical, voluntary organisation to campaign for more women into Parliament, European Parliament, Local Government and public life.
Membership was open to anyone aged 15 or over who agreed with its aims, namely: 1) to work towards equal representation of women in Parliament, 2) to encourage women to seek and hold public office and 3) to encourage women to participate in decision making processes at all levels. In order to achieve this, its objectives were defined as a) to provide regular training, such as 'political schools' for aspiring councillors, MPs and MEPs and skills and policy training supplied by 300 Group trainers, in all the skills essential to achieving success in public life, b) to set up regional branches throughout the United Kingdom, c) to generate a supportive network of women through political receptions and other social events etc, and d) to create a climate of opinion which regards as natural the participation of women in public life.
In addition to the national group and its programmes of development and networking events, local groups or branches were also formed with their own programmes of training, seminars and speakers. The group's activities were funded through members subscription, large funding raising events - most prominently the annual Lady Astor Dinner, and profits from workshops. Major sponsors included British Telecom and The Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust Ltd.
A National Executive Committee was elected annually by the membership. There were also sub-committees which organised events, training, fundraising and the production of a newsletter. National policy decisions were made by a Board of Directors elected by members who in turn annually appointed a Chair, Vice Chair and Finance Director as well as a Company Secretary. Male and female MPs could become Friends of the 300 Group. A separate Educational Trust was founded in 1988, with the aim of focusing the group's work in schools and universities.
Lack of funding caused the the group to decline in the 1990s. The 300 Group seems to have disbanded c. 2002.
The papers have been kept in their orignal files, but an overarching series structure has created by the archivist for ease of access. Series I includes material collected by The Fawcett Library and the National Federation of Women's Institutes.
This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.
The majority of the papers were deposited in 1995 by The 300 Group as an outright gift
Catalogued
This collection has been stripped, cleaned and repackaged as at May 2009. The papers are in reasonably good physical condition although much of the paper is of poor quality.
Duplicate material has been disposed of. Publications duplicated in The Women's Library's Printed Collections have been removed, but have been listed in the scope and content section of the relevant catalogue record. The majority of printed ephemera has been retained.
The majority of the papers were deposited in 1995 by The 300 Group. A later accrual, 5THG/H was gifted by Tim Symonds, partner of Lesley Abdela, in 2007.
Potential accruals from Lesley Abdela and regional branches.
